*Chapter 194: Marco Takes the Hit and Dies*

At Sarutobi Hiruzen's command, more than twenty ninjas rushed out.

They stood in a strange formation, moving with seamless coordination.

In an instant, they formed seals.

The next moment!

A crimson barrier suddenly rose up.

It directly enclosed Whitebeard within it.

Whitebeard looked at the barrier in front of him. Wasn't this the same as before?

But this barrier seemed to have decent defensive power; it probably couldn't be destroyed as easily as the previous one.

At least, it wouldn't be possible to destroy it in a single strike!

Newgate decided to see what these guys were up to.

They had to at least give him some kind of feeling, right? After all, since he arrived in Konoha...

These ninjas hadn't sparked his interest at all.

Only Might Guy had caught his attention a little.

But that guy was stubborn like a mule!

"Hmm?"

Whitebeard noticed four ninjas appearing within the barrier!

These people wore masks on their faces, and when he looked at them with his Observation Haki, he sensed a dark aura.

It seemed...

They were ready to die.

"Ninjutsu! Dark Path Technique!"

The four ninjas rapidly formed seals with their hands, and in the next moment, darkness completely enveloped the area around them.

Gradually, all the light in Whitebeard's vision was swallowed up!

"Blinding my eyes? Interesting!"

Newgate looked around at the empty, pitch-black world!

His sight was blocked, but those guys probably couldn't see well either.

They were likely having a hard time seeing him too!

But these guys were treating him like an ordinary ninja.

And Newgate was no ordinary ninja.

Observation Haki was his specialty.

At their level of combat, eyesight wasn't really useful anymore.

The speed of the naked eye simply couldn't keep up with the enemy's movements.

Only Observation Haki could clearly perceive the enemy's movements.

So, to Newgate, such low-level techniques had no effect at all.

Bang!

With a swing of his naginata, he instantly sent a ninja who was trying to approach him flying.

These ninjas were surprisingly resilient; even after taking a hit from him, they could still stand back up.

"Ninjutsu: Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"

The remaining three showed no sign of sadness on their faces—this was Sarutobi Hiruzen's contingency plan.

They had been trained as death soldiers from the start, always waiting for Sarutobi Hiruzen's call.

They had learned forbidden techniques from sealing scrolls and even some mutually destructive ninjutsu.

Their mission was to drag their enemy to death with them.

"What are they up to?"

Newgate watched cautiously; even though everything was pitch black before him, his Observation Haki allowed him to see a massive shadow looming over.

At this moment!

Newgate's pupils contracted sharply.

He really wanted to curse his opponent for resorting to such tricks.

But in battles between pirates, nobody ever accused each other of being underhanded.

Newgate reversed his naginata and tried to slash at them, but the ninja he had knocked away earlier suddenly appeared at his side.

Using all sorts of tricks to entangle him, they made it difficult for Newgate to disrupt the other three.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the darkened barrier; the moment it rose, he already knew what the outcome would be.

Konoha would ultimately claim victory in this battle, even if it cost Sarutobi Hiruzen most of his ANBU ninjas.

Even if he had to use the death soldiers he had cultivated from the Sarutobi clan.

But!

No matter what!

Konoha would prevail.

“Dad!”

A figure came flying through the air!

Marco flapped his wings and looked toward the barrier.

From the way Newgate had attacked the barrier earlier, he knew how to break it.

The ones maintaining the barrier were its greatest weakness. As long as they were dealt with, the barrier would collapse on its own.

Without anyone sustaining it, the barrier couldn't hold up.

"Stop that guy!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils contracted. He hadn't seen Marco before and thought he had fled the battlefield.

But unexpectedly, Marco appeared at this critical moment.

What was with this guy, and why did he suddenly show up here?

Moreover!

Why did Marco have wings on his back?

He looked like some kind of birdman.

"Get out of my way!!"

Marco shouted, his hand transforming into a barrier of blue flames.

All the ninjutsu and tools thrown at him were blocked.

Marco quickly streaked across the sky!

With a swift kick, he sent two of the ninjas maintaining the barrier flying.

With two of them down, the barrier still held, but the remaining ninjas were clearly struggling.

Even if Marco didn't act, the barrier would break after a while.

But Marco didn't have that kind of time to waste.

He knocked away a few more ninjas blocking his path and sent two more barrier maintainers flying.

The barrier in front of him instantly shattered, and Marco rushed into the darkness.

He sensed his father was in danger, so he hurried back without stopping.

He was right; the Konoha crowd had started using dirty tricks.

“Dad!”

Marco searched aimlessly in the darkness, suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine.

His Observation Haki gave him a premonition, warning that a deadly attack was about to strike.

Marco's gaze shifted, and he saw a massive, translucent figure standing behind several people.

The pressure emanating from that figure was intense, and just a glance filled his soul with a sense of dread.

It seemed to have a natural suppression over the soul itself. Marco's face instantly changed.

This ninjutsu...

If he were hit, even as a Phoenix Devil Fruit user, he would die.

It seemed similar to Charlotte Linlin's kind of ability.

A power specifically targeting the soul!

At this moment, Marco felt incredibly anxious.

His Observation Haki had already located his father's position.

Seeing the three figures moving, he felt a rush of urgency inside.

Without much hesitation, he charged upward, positioning himself in front of Whitebeard.

As a son, sacrificing his life for his father was the most natural thing to do.

Moreover!

Marco had always hoped for a day to take action like this.

Today was that day!

"Got him!"

The three ninjas showed excitement on their faces!

They feared Newgate's strength and thought it might be impossible to simply pull out his soul.

So, Sarutobi Hiruzen had arranged for three of them to act together!

However, once they caught hold of him, they felt the pulling force wasn't that strong.

After the three grabbed the figure, the darkness behind them began to dissipate.

Without their chakra supporting the Dark Path Technique, it was immediately undone.

"Marco!"

Newgate looked at the person standing in front of him, his face filled with disbelief.

His naginata inadvertently fell to the ground.

Seeing the Shinigami behind the three, Newgate could already guess what was happening.

He wanted to pull Marco away, but the Shinigami's hand had already extended from the three's bodies.

That hand, covered in runes, directly reached into Marco's body.

The soul...

Had already been captured.

"Dad! It seems this village does have some tricks up its sleeve. Didn't expect to get caught off guard like this."

"I guess this is what Uchiha Reijin feared—these kinds of moves are really hard to defend against."

Marco struggled to lift his head, a bitter smile on his face.

He could feel his consciousness being pulled away; it was likely to be extracted by the Shinigami in front of him.

"Let go of him!"

Whitebeard roared, stomping on the ground. His naginata flew into the air.

A large hand gripped the naginata and swung it down fiercely.

Three blood-stained arms were cut off and fell to the ground.

However, the hand filled with runes that was holding Marco's soul didn't change at all.

This thing seemed to not exist; Whitebeard's attack went straight through it.

"Dad! I fear it's useless. I feel my soul being pulled away."

"It's just like Charlotte Linlin's Soul-Soul Fruit; there's no way to resist this kind of power."

"Dad, leave Konoha. I'm afraid this isn't their only tactic; they probably have more tricks up their sleeve."

Marco tried to move, but it felt like a massive force was pressing down on him.

He could only slightly move his fingers, and even that took all his strength.

Watching the soul-extracting hand continuously pull away, Marco hurried to speak a few more words to Newgate.

He never thought he would end up in a place like this, meeting his end.

What a surprise!

"Marco!"

Newgate didn't know what to say for a moment.

Looking at Marco in front of him, he couldn't accept the sudden loss of his son.

He had never thought his son would die in front of him.

And it was by the hands of Konoha, whom they had underestimated—a village with such tricks up its sleeve.

"Dad, the greatest honor of my life is being your son. If there is a next life, I want to be your son again."

"After this, I won't be there to heal your wounds on the ship. Please don't secretly drink against medical advice. Take care of yourself."

Marco sensed his death was imminent, and words spilled from his mouth like beans.

He could feel the hand pulling his soul exerting more force.

Because the three of them were using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on him together, it felt like his soul was being tugged from different directions.

At that moment, Marco looked at the translucent phantom!

The phantom's eyes were fixed on him, as if he had something valuable.

The Shinigami behind the three pulled out a short blade from its mouth and licked it.

Newgate drew his blade to block it, but it simply passed through the phantom.

“Bang!”

The Shinigami’s blade descended!

Marco's expression froze instantly.

His soul split into three parts and was sealed within their bodies.

However, the final soul would eventually merge in the Shinigami's stomach.

After the Shinigami’s strike, Marco's body stiffened and fell.

But before he could hit the ground, a large hand caught his shoulder and held him in its embrace.

Newgate looked at Marco's corpse, his face devoid of expression.

But the shadows around him burned like flames on the brink of eruption.

"What a foolish son!"

Newgate hoisted Marco's body onto his shoulder and looked in the direction of Sarutobi Hiruzen, stepping over several corpses.

He had been careless; if not for his negligence, Marco wouldn’t have ended up taking the hit for him.

He had gained a family member in the ninja world, but he had also lost one.

He admitted he had underestimated Konoha!

But!

Can you Konoha truly withstand the wrath of the world's strongest man?

Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others watched Whitebeard with caution.

Though they hadn't seen the specifics of what had happened, they saw Marco's body on Whitebeard's shoulder.

It seemed this guy had rushed in to take the blow for Whitebeard.

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a wave of shock in his heart!

But now was not the time for any other emotions.

Sarutobi Hiruzen motioned with his hand, ready to go again.

Until Newgate is dead!